Paul John Knowles

Paul John Knowles (April 25, 1946 – December 18, 1974), also known as The Casanova Killer, was an American serial killer tied to the deaths of 18 people in 1974, though he claimed to have murdered 35.

Paul Knowles was born in Orlando, Florida, on April 25, 1946 to Thomas Jefferson Knowles and Bonnie Knowles née Strickland.

Knowles lived in foster homes before first being incarcerated at the age of 19.

In early-1974, Knowles was serving time at Raiford Prison in Florida (now known as Florida State Prison) when he began corresponding with a divorcee named Angela Covic in San Francisco, eventually becoming engaged.

His fiancée paid for his legal counsel and, upon his release, Knowles flew directly to California to be with her, but she called off the wedding.

The woman said Knowles projected an "aura of fear" that terrified her.

Knowles claimed to have murdered three people on the streets of San Francisco that night, but that has never been verified.

Knowles returned to Jacksonville, Florida.

He was soon arrested after stabbing a bartender during a fight, but he picked a lock in his detention cell and escaped on July 26, 1974.

After his escape from police custody, Knowles began a four-month, multistate crime spree.

At the time, the crimes were not linked but after Knowles' capture authorities discovered he had recorded audiotaped confessions that he mailed to an attorney.

Knowles was shot in the foot by Chief Detective Philip Howard during the foot chase, before finally being cornered on November 17, 1974 by David Clark, a 27-year-old Vietnam War veteran and hospital maintenance worker.

Clark, who happened to be out hunting with a shotgun at the time, held Knowles at gunpoint until Henry County investigators Paul Robbins and Billy Payne arrived on the scene.

Robbins and Payne arrested and handcuffed Knowles, who was outside of the perimeter established for the formal manhunt and might well have escaped if not for Clark's intervention.

On December 18, 1974, Sheriff Earl Lee and Agent Ronnie Angel from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation were traveling down Interstate 20 with Knowles, who was handcuffed in the back seat.

Their destination was Henry County, Georgia, where Knowles had, per a Georgia Bureau of Investigation press release, admitted to dumping a handgun he had taken from Florida State Trooper Charles Eugene Campbell, after killing him with it.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation reported, "Knowles grabbed Lee's handgun, discharging it through the holster in the process and while Lee was struggling with Knowles and attempting to keep control of the vehicle, Angel fired three shots into Knowles' chest, killing him instantly."

These tapes were never released to the public, but were reviewed by a grand jury in 1975.

The tapes, along with all transcripts, were destroyed "after being ruined beyond repair in a flood of the Federal Courthouse in Macon," according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Shortly after murdering Campbell and Meyer, Knowles became involved in a car chase with Henry County Sheriff’s Deputy Charles Hancock.

He eventually crashed the car through a police roadblock in Henry County, Georgia and Officer Jerry Key was injured when Knowles' stolen car crashed into his patrol car.

Knowles escaped the vehicle on foot, firing several shots at the pursuing officers.

A lengthy and chaotic foot chase ensued, with Knowles pursued by dogs, law enforcement officers from several agencies, and helicopters.